I Need You To Need Me
by neeta-san
Summary: This few shot takes off right at the end of the season. Kat and Patrick are together, but will Blank and Patrick's past get in the way of their future?     Bianca deals with Joey's betrayal. Who will be there to mend her broken heart?
1. Simple Truths

I Need You To Need Me: 10 Things I Hate About You Fan Fic

Chapter One: Simple Truths

Setting: Right at the end of episode 20

Disclaimer: I do not own 10 Things I Hate About You but all mistakes are mine.

"I'm not leaving," a surprised Walter stated as he discovered his daughter in bed with whom he believed was her ex-boyfriend. He had been happy to hear they had split up, but there he was, naked underneath the covers of his daughter's bed. Patrick covered his face, knowing that he was in deep shit after this. A few thoughts came to his head, first that they probably should have been more discrete about this and most importantly that he might never be allowed to see Kat again –not that he needed permission.

He regained his composure and turned to the other side of the bed, retrieving his clothes off of the floor, passing Kat her own clothes. She quickly changed underneath the covers still red in the face from the embarrassment that she felt inside.

Walter stood there, watching them get dressed. "Dad, don't panic," she said as soon as she was decent. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back tomorrow," she said.

"That doesn't make the situation any better," he replied.

"I know," she said meekly. "Dad, just hear me out okay."

Patrick sat on the edge of the bed silent as death; hoping things would straighten themselves out. He had followed up what could easily be the best moment of his life with the most humiliating moment in his life. He had been caught, pants down, by the father of a girl he had just slept with. For all Patrick knew he could think it was her first time.

Kat sat silently for a moment, contemplating what to say next to her father. "Dad, it's not as bad as you think." Her dad stared at her.

"What do you mean? You mean to tell me that I didn't just find my daughter in bed with this motorcycle wild boy who I hardly know. I thought I taught you better that this. Don't you know that it's things like this that keep up to my elbows in placenta every day?"

"Dad, you know I'm more careful than that. We used protection and we even got tested before doing anything," she paused, "I'm still as responsible as always."

"Responsible would be waiting until you're married to have sex. That would be responsible. I can't believe you Kat. I thought you were the kind of girl who knew when to say no."

"I am dad, but this is something I wanted –something we both wanted. We prepared ourselves. I'm not going to end up barefoot and pregnant at some trailer park. I was as careful as anyone should be in this situation."

Walter turned to Patrick who was still sitting on the edge of the bed trying to gather his composure. "And you," he said, haughtier than he had been with Kat. "I allowed you to see my daughter and she left you . . . probably one of the smartest things she's done," he said insultingly. "You can wonder at my surprise at finding you in her bed." He paced a few steps before deciding what to say next. "I want you out. You are not to step foot inside this house again or even see Kat."

Anger rose up inside of Patrick. He wasn't about to let anyone, even Walter, tell him that he could not see Kat. He stood up with a serious look on his face. "I'm not going anywhere," he said as he moved closer to Walter. " I love your daughter. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

Kat was startled at his words. Patrick had just confessed that he loved her. It was unexpected. She had long felt that way about him, but was never sure if he felt the same way. Now he boldly admitted it. She stood up and faced Patrick, forgetting for a moment that Walter was still in the room. "I love you too," she said.

"Ahem," Walter interrupted. "That's all fine and dandy, but that's not going to keep me from banning you from this house. You disrespected me and my daughter."

"Sir, I meant no disrespect. I love Kat. I respect her more than anyone I know. She's smart, beautiful, and we care about each other. You can't stop me from seeing her; so you can either accept that or I'll just keep seeing her behind your back. You won't stop me from being with her. No one can stop me from being with her."

Walter was dumbfounded. He didn't know how to react. He was angry, but he wanted Kat to be happy. She looked happy, and he didn't want to see her otherwise. He was at an impasse. "Just leave," he said to Patrick, "Kat and I need to talk."

* * *

Patrick looked over at Kat to see what he should do. She nodded at him to go, so he gathered his things and walked out of the room. He headed downstairs, contemplating what just happened. He found Bianca crying on the couch with Dawn and Cameron desperately trying to console her. He couldn't help but wonder what happened. He ignored his curiosity for a second, wondering which of them had ratted him out to Walter.

"Patrick?" Bianca looked over as she heard his heavy combat boots walking toward them. "Oh my god," she said while wiping the tears from her eyes. "You weren't with Kat were you?" She said in feigned shock. She knew he was there. His motorcycle was parked outside by the curb when she got home.

"What do you think," he replied.

"Oh my god," she repeated. "I just sent dad up there. I'm so sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am," he replied. He wondered why she would do something like that to her own sister, but he wasn't about to confront her just yet.

Remembering what she had just seen, Bianca burst into tears again.

"Okay I know you don't feel that guilty about accidentally ratting me out to your dad," he said somewhat mockingly.

"It's Joey," Cameron answered for her. "He kissed another girl on The Biggest Poser."

"That's heavy," Patrick replied. He didn't say much else before heading for the door and leaving. His head was still full of what had just happened. The sex, the humiliation, the confession was clouding his mind.

After the door slammed shut Bianca continued sobbing.

"She kissed him not the other way around," Dawn tried to convince Bianca.

"Yeah Joey loves you," Cameron chimed in. "He didn't kiss back."

"Yes he did. Anything over three seconds counts as a mutual kiss," Bianca said in between sobs. "I thought he loved me," she continued sobbing. "She's so beautiful too. I could never compare with that. What am I supposed to do now?" 

"Sweetie, I'm sure this is just a big misunderstanding. Joey loves you. He would never hurt you on purpose," Dawn tried to calm her, "I'm sure he'll explain it all to you next time he calls." Bianca was beyond consolation. "I'll stay over tonight if you want," Dawn offered. Bianca nodded in approval.

Dawn shot an expressive look at Cameron.

"I guess I should be going then," he said before getting up and leaving the house.

* * *

"Dad," Kat began, "don't be mad."

"Mad? I'm not mad," he mocked her. "I just found my daughter naked in bed with a Hell's Angel, but I'm not mad."

"Dad you're blowing this out of proportion. You didn't think I was never going to have sex. And in retrospect this might have not been the best choice of location, but it happened and I'm not sorry about it."

Walter was silent for a few moments. "Kat, I'm not angry. I'm surprised –and not in a 'surprise party' kind of surprise but a 'oh my lord my daughter is sexually active' kind of surprise. You're only seventeen-years-old."

"Dad I'll be eighteen next month and I'm not going to live in a little plastic bubble my whole life. I mean it's not the first time I've had sex."

"What? So you've been lying to me then," Walter said a bit taken aback by the confession.

"What was I supposed to do dad? You have me placed on this pedestal and you're not exactly easy to talk to when it comes to sex. But you taught me well dad. I mean I haven't been out participating in orgies. I've been with two guys, counting Patrick; both of them got tested and used protection. I didn't get pregnant, I didn't get an STD, and the world didn't end. Dad, it's okay."

"No it's not okay. You're not going to see this, this . . . Patrick again," he demanded, trying to regain control of the situation, but his tone was weak. He didn't mean what he was saying and Kat could see that.

"We both know that's not going to happen dad."

"I know," he said dejectedly, "Just don't do, you know, anywhere near me. And I don't want this boy in your room when he's over . . ."

"When? So I'm allowed to see him then? Not that I need your permission, but it's nice to know I have it anyway."

"It's just when Bianca told me you had a bad day, I felt like I was needed. Imagine how I felt when I saw you."

"Wait, Bianca?" Kat was surprised. "Did she send you up here?"

* * *

"Bianca," Kat almost screamed as she ran downstairs, "could you please tell me why you sent dad up to my room? You knew Patrick was here. You know what dad's like. How could you do this to us?" She scolded, not noticing the redness and puffiness in her sister's eyes.

"It's not like you were doing anything up there. I think we would have heard you." Bianca was sedate enough answer questions without bursting into tears again.

Kat stared at her. "You _were_ doing something up there. I just thought daddy found him in your room. I didn't think he would find you doing _that_." She was growing more animated now. This was juicy, but it made her feel even guiltier about sending her dad up to Kat's room. She remembered what happened just after she did that –the kiss. Talk about instant karma.

"Well he did," Kat said rather peeved.

Bianca burst into tears again and Dawn ran to her side. "It's okay sweetie," Dawn continued to soothe.

"I'm not that mad at you Bianca, you don't have to fake cry," Kat said before realizing that Bianca's sobs were real. "What's wrong?" she asked Dawn more than Bianca.

"One of the girls kissed Joey in the hot tub on The Biggest Poser," Dawn answered.

"What? No way." She turned to Bianca. "There's no way he would give you up for some trashy model. I'm sure it meant nothing."

"He didn't kiss back," Dawn restated for the umpteenth time.

"Yes he did," Bianca asserted. "Three second rule. You know that Dawn. It was more than three seconds, therefore the kiss was mutual."

Kat wasn't good at the sisterly advice thing, so she sat there silently for a few moments before saying anything. She needed to process all that was happening.

"Bianca," she said," He's not going to leave you. You need to trust him. This is probably just some publicity stunt the writers wanted her to pull. Joey isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, so I doubt he knew what was going on. Things will work themselves out."

She was being as sincere as possible and hoped rather than knew that things would be okay for her sister's sake. She went back upstairs and got ready for bed, her head full of the events of the day. As she lay in bed, she could still smell Patrick's familiar scent on her sheets. It was comforting to her. She was ready to give all of herself to him, and she felt that he was doing the same.

* * *

The next day at school was going to be tough. Kat knew that she would again have to face the humiliation of the day before. She still couldn't believe that Blank would stoop so low. She was angry, but she felt worse about the things she had said in the video.

She walked onto campus ready to face the day when Patrick walked up to her and gave her a hug. It was nice to know she had at least one friend, one ally, one person who cared about her. As long as she was with him, nothing could bother her. It was like a force field that blocked out the rest of the world. It was only the two of them.

When she got to class, however, things got progressively worse. The snide remarks and the other harassments went on throughout the day. The class she feared most was calculus. Blank was in that class. She wanted to confront him, but it was going to be messy.

She walked into the classroom and decided to sit in the back corner, hoping that people would just leave her alone, but before she reached the desk Blank walked in front of her, blocking her way.

"Kat hear me out. I had nothing to do with what happened yesterday, I swear. I would have liked to win fair and square –not like this."

"Really because you betrayed me from the start. Do you remember Meatless Mondays?" A guilty look overcame his face. "Exactly," she continued, "I have no reason to believe you. Besides, if you didn't do it, who else did?"

"Tabitha," he answered. "I don't really know why, but she practically told me so herself."

"Why would Tabitha want to sabotage me? She tried to help me with my video."

"Maybe because I offered to put her in charge of the prom, but like I said, I really don't know."

"I'll try to believe you just this once, but we're still not friends."

"Why?" he questioned. "Because of motorcycle man? Is he still jealous? You and I both know I'm the better man."

"For the record, I have no interest in you. And secondly, Patrick is twice the man you are so save your criticism for someone who actually cares."

She pushed past him to her seat and waited for the bell to ring for lunch.

* * *

Kat was bombarded with food and trash as she walked through the lunch line. She ran away in tears to her car, which was still covered from the day before. She plopped down against the side of it and cried.

Patrick had been sitting at their usual table waiting for Kat to show up. He'd been running late to lunch and had missed Kat's humiliation. After about five minutes he decided to go looking for her. At length he found her still sitting beside her car trying to suppress the tears that welled up in her eyes.

He sat down next to her and pulled her close. "You wanna get out of here?" She nodded.

"We need to clean off your car first."

They drove the car over to the auto shop and hosed it off. Most of the gunk came off and they got in and drove off. "So where do you want to go?" he asked.

"Anywhere but here."

Patrick was at the wheel. "I know just where to go." He headed off in a direction that Kat was unfamiliar with before they reached a house that Kat had never seen before.

"We're not staying here," he said, "I just need to get a couple of things."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He walked upstairs and came back with a small duffle bag not revealing what was inside.

They went back to the car and headed for God knows where. They arrived at a secluded wooded area that was rather beautiful. They got out of the car and Patrick slowly started pulling things out of the bag. He produced two blankets and a pillow. He laid one of the blankets down on the floor and left the other one for them to cover themselves with.

"Are you trying to seduce me Mr. Verona?" Kat asked suggestively.

"Only if you want me to. No one will find us up here. I come up here to think when I need to get out of my house."

"Have you ever brought another girl here?" Kat asked a little miffed.

"No. I never bring anyone up here, until now that is. Come on, lay down with me." He lay down on the blanket and left a place just large enough for Kat to lie closely beside him. She laid herself down and was soon comfortable.

They sat quietly for a moment until Kat remembered that they had never finished yesterday's conversation thanks to her father. "So what was the favor you were going to ask me before we were interrupted?"

Patrick paused for a bit to look into her eyes. "Don't ever leave me. I need you around. You're my only friend, my girlfriend, my everything right now. I only have you."

"I won't," she promised. "I love you."

"I love you too. And I'll make sure I never break your heart if you don't break mine."

"I won't," she replied softly before placing a kiss on his forehead. They lay there for a few hours before Kat finally realized what time it was.

"I have to get home or dad is going to kill me."

"Okay, we'll go pick up my bike." They left in a bit of a hurry, reaching the school more quickly than expected. Kat walked Patrick over to his motorcycle and gave him a soft kiss and hug goodbye. "I'll see you later," he promised.


	2. Boiling Over

I Need You To Need Me: 10 Things I Hate About You Fan Fic

Chapter Two: Boiling Over

"It's going to be okay sweetie," Dawn reassured for the millionth time since they had seen that fateful kiss.

It had been two days; two days since Joey broke her heart, two days that he had not called to explain himself, and two days that Dawn had been at her beck and call to console her whenever Bianca needed it.

Dawn had behaved just as a best friend should have. But, it seemed, she was not getting anything in return except more whining and crying on Bianca's side. Dawn had started to grow sick of it all and wanted to say something, but she was too afraid of kicking Bianca while she was already down. She choked back the urge to speak and instead continued steadfastly at Bianca's side.

"Dawn, what am I supposed to do?" Bianca said through her tears. "It's been two days and he still hasn't called me. Do you think he's avoiding me? He must be avoiding me," she rambled on.

"He'll call. I know he will. Right now he's probably just busy with the show. And you know how the phone is never free in the model house. Maybe he hasn't had a chance to call." Dawn continued to reassure.

Just then Bianca's phone rang. She jumped at it, hoping that Joey would be on the other line, but instead it was Cameron. She was seriously disappointed.

"Hi Cameron," Bianca answered dejectedly.

Dawn secretly wondered why Cameron would call Bianca instead of her, but she tried her best to shrug it off and hope that it was just nothing.

"Yeah Dawn is still here," Bianca continued the conversation.

This small statement made Dawn feel better. Cameron was thinking of her. It reassured her that their relationship was still strong, that he still thought of her even when Bianca was in distress.

"Sure you can come over tomorrow," Bianca answered again. "We'll watch movies and pig out. It will make me feel better. You're a great friend Cameron," she ended the conversation.

Dawn was still feeling a bit insecure, but she knew that nothing was happening between them. They were just friends, or so she hoped.

Bianca's mood seemed to become more cheerful after talking with Cameron, and Dawn was grateful for that. All of Bianca's moping was wearing thin. Dawn was on the brink of breaking down and telling Bianca that she was being selfish, but she knew that it was her duty and the best friend to deal with it. After all, a friend in need is a friend indeed.

The two girls spent the rest of the afternoon watching television. It seemed that Bianca was beginning to try to suppress her despair in regards to Joey. She hardly mentioned him for the remainder of their time together expect for a few times when something or other reminded her of him.

* * *

Kat had been mulling over what she should do about the Tabitha and Blank situation for a couple of days. She wasn't sure that confronting either of them, especially Tabitha, would help her case at all. Sure the whole school still seemed to hate her, but it was starting to wind down a little, and through it all she had Patrick.

Patrick had been her rock for the past few days. There was little time that they weren't together ever since the day that he had told her he loved her.

He had promised never to break her heart and it seemed that he was keeping his word. She felt safe with him. She felt safe in his arms, and he made her feel that she was special in a way that no other boy had ever made her feel.

She went to school that day prepared for another onslaught of ridicule and torment. The act was getting old fast. She wanted desperately to get out of there. She wanted to be somewhere where people couldn't make her feel like shit all of the time.

She sat at her regular table at lunch and waited for Patrick to show up. At length he did.

"You know I'm starting to like these tofu dogs. I still don't get why vegetarians want their food to taste like meat, but it's not half bad."

Patrick had been trying to follow some of Kat's advice and eat less meat. He wasn't exactly trying to impress her, but he wanted to show her that he cared about her cause.

"It's not the taste we don't like, it's the sad little animal faces before they're sent to slaughter that bugs us."

"I'll keep that in mind next time I eat a burger."

"You know, I don't expect you to change just because of me. But it's nice that you're trying."

She leaned in and gave him a kiss. Just then, she was pummeled with a half eaten hotdog. Patrick got up and looked for the culprit, but they were long gone.

"I don't know why you just sit here and take their crap," he said a bit perturbed. "You don't deserve to be treated like shit everyday."

"What I'm I supposed to do? Fight back? You know that I would, but it just doesn't seem worth it."

"Then let's just get out of here. Come on, you can't tell me you don't want to."

He got up and pulled her toward the parking lot. "Let's go."

"Where are we going to go?" she asked.

"Anywhere. How about the beach?"

Kat remembered when they had gone to the beach after the walkout she had staged. It seemed like a good place to hide. They rode off, forgetting that there was still half a day of classes left.

* * *

By the time Kat went to go pick up her car from school, the sun was setting and she was beginning to worry that her dad was sitting in the living room waiting impatiently for her to walk through the door. She gave Patrick a kiss goodbye and headed back home.

When she arrived home, her fear became reality.

"I received a call today Kat," Walter said rather angrily. 'Do you have any idea from who?"

Kat was perplexed at first. She wasn't sure what kind of phone call would put her father into this kind of mood, but he soon cleared that up for her.

"Your school called today. Any idea why?" Kat shook her head, hoping that playing dumb would help her out for a few moments at least.

"You skipped your last three classes today, Kat, and you come home late. Where were you that was so important that you skipped school. I though you knew better than that."

"I . . ." she struggled to find the right words. "I was with Patrick," she confessed.

"Patrick. I should have known. Kat you can't just run off with him whenever you want. I let you see him, but there's a line and you just crossed it."

"Dad, I'm sorry," was all that she could say.

"You're grounded for a month. And I don't want this Patrick over here at all. You are to come home directly after school. I want you to think about what your priorities should be. School first, Patrick second."

"I understand," Kat said passively.

She wasn't in the mood to fight Walter in this case. She knew that she had been wrong and that she had behaved misguidedly. She simply wanted a short break from life, but now she was paying for it. She walked up to her room and plopped herself down on her bead.

She hadn't even noticed that her window was open and Patrick was standing outside.

"Can I come in?"

She was startled. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a hushed tone. "My dad is going to kill me if he finds out you're here. I'm already on house arrest thanks to our little adventure today."

"What are you talking about?"

"The school called my dad and ratted me out, so I'm under house arrest for a month."

"Oh yeah, they called my parents too. That's why I'm here. They kicked me out again. I just need a place to stay for the night."

"Well you can't stay here. It's too risky. Remember what happened last time? You were sleepwalking. Someone could see you if that happens again."

"I haven't done that in weeks," he replied. "Besides, we don't have to sleep the whole time."

"Patrick!" Kat exclaimed. "We are not having sex in my room again."

"That's not what I meant. We could just talk. I could use someone to talk to right now."

Kat thought for a moment of the pros and cons of having him sleep over again. He shot her a look that made her heart melt. "Fine, you can stay, but you have to be quiet. I can't risk dad catching you here again."

"Cross my heart," he replied.

"So am I on the floor again?"

She thought for a moment. "I guess you can stay in my bed, but no moves okay; just talking."

"I can live with that, but if in the middle of the night you decide you want me, I'm not gonna stop you."

"Patrick be serious."

"Fine. I'm sorry."

* * *

Patrick left sometime around dawn, planting a kiss on Kat's forehead as she still slept. He climbed out the window and left to hang out somewhere, anywhere, until school started.

He was at school earlier than usual and ran into Tabitha, who was always early for school, in the parking lot.

"Hey Patrick," she said in a flirty voice.

"Um, hi," he responded. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment, especially not her. He had spent a long time avoiding her. He didn't like talking to her.

He cut off the conversation by walking away. He walked over to Kat's usual parking spot and waited for her to show up. A few minutes later, she showed. She got out of the car and gave him a good morning kiss.

"I didn't even notice you go this morning," she said.

"I didn't want to wake you up. Hope you didn't miss me too much."

"Don't flatter yourself," Kat replied playfully.

"Oh you know you missed me, even just a little," he said as he pulled her into another kiss. "Thanks for being there for me last night. It's nice to have someone who actually cares about me, not like my parents or anyone else."

"I'm sure your parents care about you Patrick."

"Well they have a weird way of showing it. Anyway, I'd rather not talk about them. Let's just get to class before we get in trouble again."

They headed to their separate classes, and began another school day.

When lunch rolled around, Kat waited somewhat impatiently to see Patrick again. As she walked to their table, she noticed Patrick and Tabitha talking. She wondered what on earth the two could have to say to each other. She couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So when are we going to hang out again," Tabitha asked touching Patrick's arm. He pulled away to Kat's satisfaction.

"That's ancient history," he replied. "Take a hint. I don't want you back."

Want her back? It didn't take much for Kat to jump to the conclusion that Tabitha and Patrick had been together at some point. She only wondered when and why she was trying to flirt with him now. She decided that she had heard enough and walked over to their table to wait.

Patrick didn't take long to get there.

"Veggie lasagna today," he said as he placed his tray down on the table.

"You really are trying," she said with a smile, trying to hide her curiosity about his conversation with Tabitha.

"It doesn't taste half bad," was his only reply. "So I guess I won't be seeing you after school today, right?"

"House arrest, remember?"

"Yeah I figured."

They spent the rest of their lunch conversing pleasantly about various subjects until their time ran out and they had to return to class.

* * *

Kat's mind began to wander back to the conversation she had overheard between Patrick and Tabitha. She couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she thought about it. It sounded like they had a past together. She wondered why Patrick didn't tell her, but he was a private person and this wasn't exactly "need to know" material –in his eyes at least.

She wondered how long ago whatever thing they had had been. Was it months? A year? It couldn't be that close to the time she and him got together, she thought. She would have noticed. Besides, there was that other girl he was trying to get rid of around the time they started having a _thing_ together.

Kat was right about one thing, anything Patrick had had with Tabitha ended before they got together, however, it was anything but forgotten by Tabitha.

It had been a month or so before Patrick and Kat had met that he and Tabitha had been together. Kat and Bianca hadn't started school at Padua High yet. It happened at the end of summer, before the school year started.

Patrick had been spending most of his free time at the beach to get away from his parents, his stepdad in particular, when he met her. She was a lifeguard there. They had met by chance when Patrick had spotted a kid drowning and jumped into the water to get to him.

By the time Patrick had gotten the kid to shore, Tabitha was there ready to administer CPR. She thanked Patrick for his heroism and they spent the rest of the afternoon talking.

Tabitha wasn't exactly the most interesting person to talk to, but anything was a welcome relief from the screaming that he heard at home.

Sure she was shallow and he had figured her out almost instantly, but she was nice enough and not half bad looks-wise.

For a couple of days Patrick would go back to the beach and talk to her before things got a little more heavy between them. She made the first move, but he wasn't about to push her away. School was starting soon and she was a distraction, a much needed distraction.

However, Patrick soon began to grow bored of Tabitha. She was vapid, shallow, and just like any other girl he had been with. She predictably became clingy and obsessive with him, driving him away even further.

One afternoon about a week before school started, he decided that it was time to end it. He met her at the beach as usual and decided to break the news to her. She did not take it well at all.

Tabitha was not a girl who was used to losing. She had always gotten what she wanted in life, and she wanted Patrick. Patrick was hers and she was going to do what she could to keep him, but he couldn't be moved. It was over and she would just have to deal with it.

When the school year started, she tried again to catch his attention, but to no avail. She soon gave up and threw herself into running for office at school and getting what she wanted in that aspect of her life. She saw Kat and Patrick together and she began to grow jealous. She swallowed her feelings and kept moving forward.

But when Kat's ambition began to throw her into contention for class president, enough was enough. She wasn't about to lose her guy and everything she had worked for in student government to _her_. So she made a plan.

She would buddy up to Kat, help her out with her campaign and then find a way to ruin her. She had another incentive; Blank was going to put her in charge of prom if she helped him out. It only sweetened the pot.

She didn't know that it was going to be as easy as it was, and now that the whole school was against Kat, she had her shot to get Patrick back, or so she thought. She didn't know that the whole thing had only served to cement their relationship.

* * *

After school, Kat waited for Patrick by his bike to say goodbye before she was in the hands of her insane father again. She hated house arrest, but that wasn't going to stop her from seeing Patrick –at least during school hours.

When she finally saw Patrick, Tabitha was with him again. She couldn't begin to understand why she was following him all jumpy and flirty when he had plainly told her that he didn't want her just a couple of hours ago.

Tabitha followed him to his bike and was disappointed to see Kat there waiting for him.

"I didn't know you were with _her_," she said snidely as Patrick approached his bike. Kat was within earshot, but Tabitha pretended not to notice.

"Yeah, with her, not you," he said moving a little bit faster, but Tabitha kept following him.

"Hi Kat," she said as they reached his bike. "I'm sorry you lost to Blank, but I guess you win some, you lose some." Kat pretended not to hear her.

"So Patrick, I'll see you tomorrow?" she said suggestively.

"I hope not," he replied, as he grew more and more irritated.

"What do you mean, baby?" she continued. Kat could no longer hold her tongue.

"Take a hint. He doesn't want you," she said raising her voice slightly.

"Oh he wants me, he just needs to realize that he can have something better than you."

"Okay that's it. I know what you did with the videotape and I know what you're trying to do now. He doesn't want you."

"We'll just see about that," Tabitha said as she walked away.

"What's her deal anyway?" Kat asked Patrick as soon as Tabitha was gone.

"Just a bad case of the ex," he said. Kat was about to say something, but he cut her off. "It's ancient history, don't worry about it."

Kat kept her words to herself, gave Patrick a kiss, and went home.


End file.
